Do it Yourself or Hire a Pro!

Solving this question can be the difference between a home-improvement success story or utter failure.

This is a dilemma most homeowners confront at some point in time, and can make the difference between a successful home-improvement or a disastrous failure.

Even regular home improvement do-it-yourself people with practical experience a some point ask the question: Should I tackle this project myself or hire a pro?

There's an innate sense that we should fix things up ourselves. It seems to be the way to get the most out of a project -- provided you're willing to roll up your sleeves and give up every weekend for a year or two to complete a home remodel.

The ease in finding project information fuels the DIY trend. From home-improvement television shows and home-store seminars to the Internet bringing how-to, right to the workbench, opportunities to learn abound.

A project is more likely to become a DIY if the project is on the small side and if the homeowner is on the younger side. Growing up in a household where an adult tends to tackle in-house improvements would encourage involvement in household projects, and also helps breed DIY confidence.

Sometimes overconfidence, has resulted in many homeowners who thought they knew everything, fall short.

Some things are just not as easy as they may seem. The idea is moving a wall to create some extra bathroom space could involve ripping out the old and hauling it away, moving the plumbing, adding new floor framing, rerouting electrical wires, removing and replacing trim on the wall, matching the wall texture to the original, and painting etc.

Homeowners with decent basic skills also experience unexpected problems. A small problem can very quickly grow into a huge one. This results in professionals being called in to salvage do-it-yourself projects that have gone wrong.

How to determine the best route to take on a home improvement project:

1. Assess your skills

Ask yourself: Do I enjoy physical labor and do I like getting dirty?

Check with staff at home stores and friends who may have tackled similar projects and consult books and other detailed resources.

Write down each step in the process, Just being able to predict and know each step is a test right there.

Who in your circle works in a trade? Could he or she lend a hand in the project if you hit a stumbling block?

Keep in mind that some things are better left to the pros - like electrical wiring or water and gas pipes. The cost of failure in these two cases can be serious injury or death.

Local building codes and regulations also come into play. Failure to comply could result in fines and problems when you later try to sell your home.

Some projects (ie. installing solid surface countertops, cabinets and drywalls) are inherently difficult, which makes them good candidates for a contractor's skilled hand. as examples.

Simple jobs, such as laying self-locking laminate flooring, can even be tricky if you have not done them before.

2. Consider the costs

Doing it yourself doesn't always come with the best price tag when all is said and done, it does eliminate labor costs. That can mean overall savings of 25 percent to 50 percent.

You will save money, in theory, by doing it yourself, if you don't mess up too badly. Mistakes result in reworking and empty wallets.

When doing the math, keep in mind that contractors can often purchase materials at a much lower cost than individual homeowners, plus they already own the required tools.

There are ways to lower costs. You don't need to own a professional workshop to Save Your House. Tool-rental shops are great for one-time needs.

If you're going the contractor route, you may be able to save by telling the pro you want to help defray costs. Doing “unskilled” tasks and cleanup are manageable possibilities, but always offering to stay out of the way as this is usually appreciated.

As with any service project, get multiple quotes. You don't need to hire the expensive, full-service contractor with the biggest ads and the biggest trucks in the neighborhood.

There's also a hybrid option: Act as your own general contractor, but farm out the actual work to subcontractors. This extra time and effort cuts out the middleman.

Just proceed with caution. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to be a contractor ... but to make contracts you have to understand an awful lot about what you're contracting for. When you want to become your own contractor, it means you're becoming your own plumber, electrician, carpenter, flooring contractor ... it also means you're becoming your own attorney."

3. Evaluate your options

There's more to DIY decisions than money.

Between the research, shopping and physical labor involved in a project, the time it takes to go it alone adds up.

Make a detailed time assessment based on your list of steps. If you can devote, say, six hours a week to a 48-hour project, prepare to spend up to eight weeks living with it.

And hiring a contractor, who can not only be there all day, but has the connections to get subcontractors to find an open slot in their schedules, may well result in a significantly faster completion.

Still, doing it yourself gives you the chance to pay more attention to detail than a contractor might.

Hesitant homeowners can take small, careful steps leading to an involved DIY project, too.

Learning to complete projects yourself also helps maintain the privacy of your home. A  nd you can always make changes mid-project. That kind of freedom goes along with the DIY pride.

Successful DIY can also earn you bragging rights.

People want to go to the canteen and say, 'You know what I did this weekend? I put in a new countertop. Or I did this ceramic tile,'. There's a lot of satisfaction in sharing that.

Note: Awesome Africa Handyman has utilised poetic licence in creating this article from various sources.